Preventative and Curative Applications of Verticillium lecanii for Biological Control of Cucumber Powdery Mildew

Abstract

The effect of timing of the application of the mycoparasite , Verticillium lecanii, on cucumber powdery mildew , Sphaerotheca fuliginea, was studied in a rooted cucumber leaf bioassay . The mycoparasite was applied at different times before and after mildew inoculation . At near - to maximum humidity ( 95% relative humidity) , early preventative (9 and 5 days before mildew inoculation) and early curative control treatments (2 days after mildew inoculation) gave considerable reduction in mildewed leaf areas , while late curative treatments resulted in greater mildewed leaf area but ultimately a reduced amount of healthy mildewed leaf area ( 20 % ) . Appropriate timing of biocontrol treatment application of V. lecanii is important to achieve good control .